Biercraft Tap & Tapas Bar (Commercial Drive & William St.)

To celebrate Val’s new job, we went out for dinner at Biercraft for two reasons.1. We had a Facebook coupon to redeem for 1/2 a pound of mussels.2. I wanted beer.

We ordered both mussels (free) and beer ($10 for 4x 4oz) and also two sets of two prix fixe dinners (starter & main or main & dessert) for $23 Beach.

For my first taster, I went with some familiar brews. The first one was for Val, just so she would have something to drink while I enjoyed my Grimbergen and Delirium. Information listed below, follow the beers left-right.

Gouden Carolus Classic 8.5% abvCaramel and aromatic malts combined with the warmness of wine and the freshness of beer.

Since we were going to share all the food, we just ordered different items to maximize what we would be trying out. For the first appetizer, we got B.C Oysters Half dozen fresh BC oysters on the half shell, red wine mignonette($8). We weren’t told what kind of oysters these were, but it’s not really a big deal. I’m not expecting them to.

Bread was extra, but there were already some complimentary house cut potatoe chips on the table. Overall, I think this one was quite salty and we should have just gone with a classic Mariner – Garlic, shallots, white wine, fresh herbs, monte au beurre.

Val ordered the Steak Frites - 6oz AAA Flat iron steak, frites, creamed spinach, red wine demi($18) and asked for it medium rare. It came out quite medium well, but she didn’t want to send it back, but when the server came by and noticed, she took it away, citing the fact that she had indeed written down “medium rare” on the order slip and sent it back to the kitchen.

Problem is, there was some miscommunication lapse between the FOH and the BOH and so a new steak came out almost 2 minutes after (given by some other server). If that kitchen can pump out a medium rare steak in under 2 minutes, consider that a fricking miracle. To me, it seems as if the kitchen told the FOH to take an already made order to replace the steak, but that’s not really how the problem should be dealt with. Actually, let’s just call that lazy and cheating on behalf of the kitchen. Just throw another steak on, a customer’s not going to leave. Trust me.

When our server came back, she was actually quite furious and taken aback that there was already another steak on our table. She acknowledged the error on behalf of the kitchen and insisted that it was not the right way to deal with this, took it away and said she’d comp Val’s meal. Soon, but not too late after, a third steak appeared on our table. This time, it was quite medium rare, actually even more so on the side of rare.

Since the steak was now free, I decided to spend the money I would have originally on some more beer instead. I jokingly tweeted that I had gotten three steaks and mussels for the grand price of $0 on Twitter, which garnered some attention.

1. Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen (Tripel IPA) 9% abvA unique marriage between the English tradition of IPAs, the new American revolution of Imperial IPAs and the classic Belgian way.

2? 4? I can’t find anything about these beers (actually 4 is a cider) on their site, but it is on their regular tap menu.

With the total bill coming to $46 before tax and tip, it honestly wasn’t that bad. You kind of know what you’re going to get at Biercraft, amazing selection of beers on tap and bottles, and some decent food. I left quite bloated and with a decent buzz (that’s what 8 x 4oz of beer will do…) and extremely happy about the service that we received.